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C. BLIEBERGER.

SOUND AMFLIFYING AND REPRODUCINQ APPARATUS.

I nrucmon ms IAY 2. 1921.

Patented Nov 21, 1922.

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solmn AMPLIFYING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 2. 192}.

1 ,43 6,080. Patented Nov. 21, 1922 a swans-sum z.

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lil mum mmmm awe/u toz C. BLIEBEBGER.

SOUND AMPHFYING MID REPRODUGING APPARATUS.

nrucmon rim: IIAY 2.1921.

1,436,080, Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

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SOUND AHPLIFYING AND REPRODUCING APPARATUS.

, APPLICATWN FILED "KY 2, I92!- 1,436,080, Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

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Patented Nov. 21, 1922.

UNITED. STA

TES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES BLIEBERGEB, OF N'EW YOBK, N. Y.

sou-rm Anemia-vino urn nnrnonucme nrrnne'rus.

Application fled. ma a; 192;. see R0. 486,032.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, CHARLES Binnunnm,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, county and State of 5 NeivYor-hhnve invented new .end useful Improvements in Sound Amplifying and Be-.. producing Apparatus, of which ing is a foll cle and exact specification.

My invention relates-generally to apperatus for amplifying sounds caused by in adphonogra, h, tic

eviccsl a vihratorydiephrugm us telephone, and other ecdus he ohje'ctpi my invention is to produce annpJparetus of compact proportions and cage.

with 8, marks le of reproducing' sounds degree of amplification, clearness and nntumlness.

It. has heretofore b n the practice to em plify the sound vibrations of diephragms (whether caused mechanically as in talking machines,

or electrically as intelephone re oeivers) by conducting the sound waves through whom or megaphone. However, the sound thus amplified has an unnatural finality and lacks 'distinctness;

escribed es choky.

The apparatus of my present invention -m-'ercnmcs'the foregoingend other defects in prior devices. plifier and re cabinet provi ed 'Briefiy etcted,-my new cmroducer consists of a box or rounded by a number of sound-distributing .or developing tisll pyramidal compartments e'lso substanin shepe or outline and free Y communicating with the sound-re cciving compartment. The sound-distribut ing compartments outer n11- throu h openings arrangement 0 ments is such that a small dimensions possesses power; while at the same are fmely open to the in the box. The these pyramidal compartbor: of comparatively great amplifying time givingout lemand natural tones.

The sounds to be reproduced and amplified are led into the sound-receiving oompartment, from "which the sound waves spread freely into the pyrn midal sound-distributing' compartments. whence they pass into the outer air.

This spreading or distributing of the sound waves within the box amplifies the v ibrations of a diaphragm. in

l p i l Owing to its'smell' eize,-my new and reproducing it may be oration of with a substantially rnmidnl sound-receiving compartment surthatthe sounds issuin from the box can be distinctly heard throughout the roomfinsvhich the apparatus may be situfl.t 8d- The voice of a per-senor the tones of c musicel instrument are reproduced with remarkable clecrness and fidelity, as I have demonstrated by octualtriel.

such sway M y amplifymg and reproducing box can be placed upon, or form part of, a phonograph cabinet, leeving' ample room in the" lower portion of the cabinet for the -storage of records. FY0133. commercial standpoint, this is n desir-able advantage. The compactness of my device renders it particularly applicable to telephone receivers.

y, invention may be embodied.

in a, small box, which, occupying but'little' space, can be pieced almost anymanner.

For the sake of explaining the principle of my invention, I W111 now describe in detail severcl illustrative embodiments thereof. In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification. t

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sound am lifier containing my invention;

ig. 2 is an inside view showing the various sound compertments;

Fig 3 is a, vertical cross-section taken up roximately on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

' *ig'. 4 is a. detached perspective view of the sound-receiving and [sound-distributing compartments;

Fig. 5 shows the inside of e modified form of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention;

'Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section taken ap proximately on line 6--6 oi Fig. 5;

wood, metal on idal compartments shdwn in' Figs; 9,

and 11.

" w I" construction illusn 1 to 4; lnclusi'ye. Theouter' t nted box or osbinet, wag h may be constructed of :Sl im Hmmriall, is innet comprises e bhse and 4, aude'nd wgilhi5j 6. Tliel'wall 4" maybe m fibhm pmj'ti' h ea y wees to g mee; 3, ,9 and 11; connected; together} 3 mny'yory depend u I thesite and shape of the heir or the secggt isdesired to pro- :Within'the box A are mounted diver to esubstentially' itaibidnl chamber indicoi d .8 Ehdlfi bj' Within the py: rainidfi-l chmbe jags artitions '12, 1e, 14 and 15, which alrefernbly (but not necessurily aflixed to e f diver panels 8 9 10 an 11. It will be seen me partitionsi andthe enels form ,a} central compartment indies. as enholeb O, and a. plurality of adjacent or surronn a: compartments D. The compartments Gen D are substantially pyramidal in form oroutline, as best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The central compartment Y C may be called the sound-receivmgcompsrtment end the surrounding com artr m'ent's D ma be referred to as soon -dis tributing or eveloping compartments. The compartment C is laterallyin communism tion with the compartments D through openwigs 16 and 17 in the partitions 12, 13, ,14

and 15, Preferably the openings 16 and 11' in the mrtitions are so arranged that the soundistributin'g compartments D communicate with each other,;as may be clearly seen from Fig. 4. The shape, arm ement and number of the openings 16 and 7 may be varied to suit the size and shape of the partitions.

The diverging panels .8, 9, 10 and 11 are preferably attached to the :box A at their inner or converging ends. There is acrossplece 18 fixed'to the well 3 of the box, as

shown'in Fig.3i and to this cross-piece are secured the pane s 8, 9, 10 and 11 in any convenient way, as any carpenter will understand.

While in the present instance I have 2, side walls 3, an

shown four panels and :1 comes ending number of artitions, it is evident 1; let the number an arrangement of the panels and pertitions may vary in accordance with the shape and dimensions of the outer box.

The wall 3 of the box A' has an opening, 19 for receiving asuitable telephone receiver E." This receiver may be of any approved type, such as may be bought in the market, one as tlle'oonstruction and operation ofthese devices are well understood, 1 have theFefoi'enot deemed it necessary to show the structural details thereof. As will be understood, the receiver E contains a vibratory diaphragm for producing sound vibrations. In the broader aspect, of my invention, thisvibrntory diaphragm may be any suitable diaphragm adapted to be opernted either electrico y or mechanically to produce sound vibrations, as in u telep zone receiver or in a phonograph sound-box, and so will conveniently refer to the part E as a ,vibreto diaphragm. The diaphragm E has a tubu urjprojectiou 19' ada. ted to pass through, or fit into, a. correspon mg opening in the cross-piece 18, so as to terminate in proximity to the o ening 20 at the inner or converging end 0 the p ramidal chamber 13. In this wav the soon waves caused by the uibrations of the diaphragm issue directly into the compartment C. l

. It will be understood that the diaphragm E is merely illustrative of a suitable source of sound which communicates with the compartment C. In describing the apparatus shown in. Figs. 1 to 4, I have assumed, for the sake of simplicity, that the box is used as a hole hone amplifier, in which case the member 1 would be :1 telephone receiver connected in a talkin" circult Instead of attachin the member :3 directly to the box,

a suitab e horn may be interposed bet-ween the diaphragm and the inner end of the rccoining compartment When my invention is used in a phonograph, the tone-arm is so attached to comnmuic-ate with the opening 20. v,

The sound waves caused by the vibratory diaphragm E enter the pyramidal roceivin'r compartment C, whence they spread in all directions,- passing through the openings 16 and 17 into the distributing compartments D. From there the waves pass out of the box through the openings 7. It will be seen that the sound waves issue laterollv from the receiving compartment G into the distributing compartments D through the openings, 16 and 17, and from the compartments D the sound waves pass laterally into the outer air. By laterally I mean here in a direction or plane substantially at right angles to the axis (or axes) of the compartments C and D, as distinguished from the operation of the usual open-mouthed horn in which the movement of the sound tionable waves is confined in the general direction of the axis of the horn. It is this unnatural confining or compressing of the sound waves which is mainl res onsible, as I belicvc, for the unnatura qua ity of sound issuing out of a horn. Now, in the apparatus of my invention, the sound waves are free to develop in all directions, as when a person speaks-without a me aphone. Because of this spreading and distribution of the sound waves issuin from the restricted and of the pyramida chamber or. conveyor B, the sounds issuing from the box are not only clear and loud, but (what is perhaps more important) they possess a natural quality, being in fact a ait-hful reproduction of the original sounds. This renders my new amplifying device especially applicable to talking machines or phonegraphs, from which it eliminates the objecphonographr sounds heretofore present. The p umidal sound chamber or conveyor B witi its partitions may be inserted in a phonograph cabinet of the usual construction and properly comiected with the tone-arm. Or the entire box A. may be built as part of a honograph cabinet. In that case, the box orms the u per portion of the cabinet and is prefera l with the wall 3 on top, so that t e inner or larger end of the tone-arm can be attached over the opening 19. This will be clearly u uderstood by any one skilled in the art.

To increase the sound-carrying power of my amplifying apparatus, I prefer to attacb. supplementary )nnels 21, 22, 23, 2st, 25 and 26 to the inside of the outer walls of the box by suitable cross-pieces 27. have also found that these supplementary panels improve the quality of the sound.

Another form of apparatus embodying my invention is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8. In this instance. the outer box or cabinet A. is provided with diverging panels 28, 29, 30 and 31. which form a pyramidal sound chamber B. Strictly spec ing, this chamber has the general outline of a truncated pyramid, but it ma properly be described as being substanti 1y pyramidal. The panels 28, 29, 30 and 31 are secured to the adjacent walls of the box A. in any suitable manner, as by means of wedge-shaped crossieces 32. Within the pyramidal chamber are mounted partitions 33, 34, 35 and 36. These. partitions diverge in a. direction op osite to the panels 28, 29, 30 and 3 1, as per aps best shown in Fig. 6, and form a central sound-receiving compartment 0, which is substantially yramidal in shape or outline. In Fig. 5 we are looking from the larger or outer end of the compartment C toward the smaller or inner end thereof, while Fig. 7 shows a reverse view. As seen from Figs. 5 to 7, each partition is at one edge connected to arranged the face of another partition and at its other edge to one of the panels. The partitions 33,34, 35 and 36 form with the panels 28, 29, 80 and 31 a plurality of sound-distributing compartments D, which are substantially pyramidal in shape or outline, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7 The central soundreceiving compartment C is in communication with the sound-distributing compartments D through openings 37 and 38 provided in the partitions. The openings 37 and 38 are preferably so arranged that the compartments D are in communication with each other.

The partition 33 is provided at its inner and with an opening or cutaway portion 39 for receiving a suitable horn 40, which or tends into the sound-receiving compartment C. This horn is held in place by any convenient means, such as a screw 41 passing from the outside of the box into the block 4-2 carried by the horn. The smaller end of the horn is adapted to receive a suitable vibratory din. hragm E. which is inserted into the box t rough the opening 43. The

nnel 28 has a hole or cutaway portion 14 in alignment with the opening 43 to accommodeto the diaphragm E.

Opposite the larger and of the sound-receivlng compartment 0 is mounted'a sound deflecting panel 45, which is secured to the outer wall a. of the box A by means of cross-pieces 46 or otherwise. When the sound waves issuing from the born 40 strike the panel 45, they are thrown back into the compartment 0', whence they sass through the openings 37 and 38 and i rom I there mto the outer air through the openings 47in the outer walls of the box A.

In Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 I have illustrated another embodiment of my invention which is characterized by even greater compactness than the constructions previously described. The box A is of elongated shape and is designed to stand on le 5 48. The outer walls 0 this box are provic ed with sound openings 49 suilicient in number and size to permit free emission of the sound to the outer air. Inside the box A is mounted a pyramidal cusing or chamber indicated as a whole by B, which is formed by panels 50, 51, 52 and 53. Within the chamber B are arranged partitions 54, 55, 56 and 57. As best seen from Figs. 9 to 12, the partitions overlap in such a way that each partition abuts at one edge against the face of another partition and at the other edge against the face of one of the panels which form the pyramidal chamber B The result is that the partitions and panels cooperate to form a plurality of substantially pyramidal sound-distributhig con" part-ments D which surround the pyramidal sound-receiving compartment C. The compartments D are in communication with the central compartment C and with tens lie within a plum air through said openings in struction. Then, again, if my invention is used to amplify the vibrations oi a tale hone diaphragm it may be found that (ii orent kinds 0;, telephone receivers and circuits require different forms and sizes of amplifying boxes to produce the best results. These matthe training of the acoustic expert.

bviously, the basic idea of my invention may be mechanically carried out in other ways than those herein set forth b way of illustration. The size and shape oi the box ma be varied to suit circumstances and conclitions; likewise, the inside partitions and panels may vary in number, form and arrangement, rovided the sound-receiving and sound-distributing com artments are made substantially pyramid or diverging, although some or a portion of the walls may be substantially parallel, as shown, for instance, in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Also, it will be apparent that in the broader aspect of my invention the diverging walls or panels of the sound-receivingochamber form with the outer walls of the x or cabinet a. luralityof substantially pyramidal or ver ing sound-distributin compartments w ich communicate wit a said chamber and are open to the outer air. This is clear from igs. 6 and 11. i do not herein claim broadly the idea of a sound-receiving chamber and a plurality of sound-distributing or developing compartments in communication with said chamber and with the outer air, because that basic principle is covered in my co-pendiu appli cation Serial Number 524,507, filed ecember 23,1921,- as a renewal of a plication Serial Number 825,256, filed eptember 20,

1919, said application being a continuation of an a lication filed by me June 24, 1918, Serial umber 241,694.

I claim as my invention:

1. A sound amplifier consisting of an outer box or cabinet havin sound openings in its walls, a plurality o diverging panels sup ported within sand box to 01m a substanti ally pyramidal chamber, and partitlons arran within said chamber to provide a substantially pyramidal central sound receiving compartment adapted to commun cute with a vibratory diaphragm, said chverging anels and said partitions forming 'ty of substantially pyramid sound-receiving compartments around said central compartment and in communication therewith, said sound-distributin compartments being in communication wit the outer the outer box or cabinet.

2. A sound amplifier consisting of an outer box or cabinet having sound openings in its walls, a plurality of diverging panels supported within said box to form a substa ntially pyramidal chamber, and partitions secured to said panels within said chamber to provide a. substantially pyramidal central sound-receiving compartment adapted to communicate with a vibratory diaphragm, said diverging panels and said partitions forming a plurality of substantially pyramidal sound-distributing compartments around said central compartment and in conununication therewith, said sound-distributing compartments being in communication with the outer air through said openings in the outer box or cabinet.

3. A sound amplifier consisting of an outer box or cabinet having sound openings in its walls, a plurality of divor ing panels supported within said box to orm a substantially pyramidal chamber, partitions arranged within said chamber to provide a substantially pyramidal central sound-re calving compartment, said compartment being open at its larger end and having a hole at its smaller end to permit communication with a vibratory diaphragm, said divergin panels and said partitions formmg a l urality of substantially pyramidal soundtributing compartments around said central compartment and in communicationtherewith, said sound-distributi compartments being in communication wit the outer air through said openings in the outer box or cabinet, and a vibratory panel mounted within said box adjacent the larger end of said central compartment.

4. A sound amplifier consisting of an outer box or cabinet having sound openings its walls. a plurality of diver 'ng panels supported within said box to orm a substantially pyramidal chamber, partitions arranged wlthin said chamber to provide a substantially pyramidal central sound-receiving compartment, said compartment beinog open at its lar or end and having a h e at its smaller an to permit communication with a vibratory diaphragm, said diverging panels and said partitions forming a plurality of substantially pyramids soimd-distributing compartments around said central compartment and in communication therewith, said sound-distributing compartments being in communication wit the outer air through said openings in the outer box or cabinet and a vibratory anel secured to the inner side of one 0? the outer walls of said box at the larger end of said central compartment, said vibratory panel being substantially coextensive wi the adjacent open end of said pyramidal chamber and spaced therefrom.

5. A. sound amplifier consisting of a box or cabinet provided with a substantially pyramidal central sound-receiving compartment and with a plurality of substantially pyramidal sound-distributing compartments around said central compartment, said central compartment communicating laterally tistiiy pyramidal soun -distnbuting compartments adjacent said sound-receiving chamber and in communication therewith, said compartments being open to the outer air through said sound openings in the box.

16. A sound amplifier consisting of a box provided inside with a diverging sound-receiving chamber, the walls of said chamber forming with the walls of said box a. plurality of diverging sound-distributing compartments adjacent said chamber and laterally in communication therewith, said compartments bein 0 en to the outer air.

CHARiE BLIEBERGER. 

